IIBF - Syllabus and exam preparation tips

IIBF: Browse syllabus by exams below

IIBF AML & KYC : (JAIIB / CAIIB) Syllabus & Exam Pattern Syllabus
IIBF Retail Banking : (JAIIB / CAIIB) Syllabus & Exam Pattern Syllabus
IIBF (BC / BF) Business Correspondents : (JAIIB / CAIIB) Syllabus & Exam Pattern Syllabus

IIBF Exam Syllabus Preparation Tips for You

Understand about IIBF exam papers

You should not register for the IIBF exams at all unless you know what you are getting into.It is not worth completing IIBF Paper 1 just to decorate your CV. You can manage to pass each of the three levels at the first attempt. "If you do not enjoy banking services & finance industry, then the IIBF exams are a waste of time".

Start early

Aspirants of this exam are mostly employees of a bank or financial institution. So, they do have tight schedule for the preparation. If you are one of them then you should start your preparing early.

You definitely have to divide your study time into the exam right up to the exam day and stick to it. If your working hours are long, then you have to start at least 1 month prior, to have enough time and reserves to meet your private and professional obligations.

Read the summaries of the study material, but also study the theory

The IIBF institute provides its own study material, however, this is often quite extensive.

Review the exam questions after learning the topics

To pass the exams, you must work through the questions from the study material. We advise candidates to answer the questions after they have worked through a topic.

Focus on your weaknesses

We recommend candidates to focus on the issues of those areas where they have particular weaknesses.

The closer the exam comes, the more you need to focus on the questions

The closer the exam date comes, the less time you should spend on the passive study of the material and even more on actively answering the test questions. Therefore, we recommend cramming the questions at the end of the learning material and going through topic-based assessments.

Take a week off before the exams

If you work full-time, you should take a few days off before the IIBF exams.

Get tips from people who have already gone through the IIBF

Since there are more and more people in India who have already passed one or more IIBF exams, current candidates can increasingly rely on the experiences of their predecessors. They can give valuable tactical tips. Therefore, candidates should consult as many former aspirants as possible.

Focus on your strengths

Even a clever timing is an important success factor. Normally, the candidates work through the questions in order. According to experts, candidates should start with the questions that suit them best. Not only it will help you get in and gain self-confidence, it will also help you to get through a section of questions relatively quickly. You have to work out a strategy for the exam.

Take care of the practical aspects

It sounds boring and still applies. It is crucial to take care of the many practical aspects of the exam.

Do not underestimate the smaller sections

Still far too many candidates skip the ethics questions. They only study the summaries and do not delve into the details. Instead, they focus on the technical issues. The curriculum goes into depth in all sections; there are subsections with a set of elaborate examples of the standards of professional behavior. Most likely, the exam will include case studies that are very familiar to you, if you have worked through the chapters well. At this point in your preparation, the ethics chapter provides the greatest marginal utility for each lesson.

Do not ignore the topics that you deal with in your daily work

An increasing proportion of candidates for Paper 1 are students. Many of them place equal emphasis on the preparation of the various specialist chapters. By contrast, financial professionals tend to make the mistake of largely skipping the chapters they deal with in their day-to-day work. This is another cardinal error. You should consider this as a warning.

Do not give anything away

First, if you think you know the correct answer, tick it and move on to the next question. Second, if you do not know it, you should think about it carefully and give the most meaningful answer from your point of view. Third, make sure you keep a note of the rest of the questions on the front of your exam papers. In the end you will hopefully have some time left. Then go back to these questions and just edit them again. Your subconscious will have been working on it for an hour or two. So you'll get some more answers.

Practice makes perfect

It's important that you answer the questions without stopping, and that you understand each question quickly and under exam conditions.